Christian Garcia shut down for 10 days or more; Chris Young building toward start

Washington Times | Feb 24

Washington Nationals right-hander Christian Garcia spoke confidently Sunday morning about the progress he’s made each day in lessening the tightness in his right wrist/forearm. But manager Davey Johnson said the team will likely rest him for 10 days, and possibly as long as two weeks, as they err on the side of caution.

Garcia, who got a second opinion on his MRI from a hand specialist in Baltimore, said the pain has lessened each day and, at this point, he feels it’ll be mostly a pain-tolerance issue.

Garcia first felt the issue a week ago, when the Nationals held their first full-squad workout on a cold, blustery day in Florida. He was hopeful he might be able to begin to return to activities in about a week, but Johnson indicated it would likely be a bit longer.

“The hand doctor said to be on the safe side he needs more rest,” Johnson said. “Christian’s feeling better and it’s going to be on how he feels before he starts things. I think 10 days, two weeks, to be on the safe side. It’s just going to be up to him.”